Annual compliance certificates for credit licensees

This information sheet is intended to provide credit licensees with guidance on how to comply with the obligation to lodge an annual compliance certificate.

PLEASE NOTE: To cancel your licence you must lodge a Form CL08. Do not assume your licence will automatically lapse if you do not lodge an Annual compliance certificate. Failure to lodge a certificate by the due date is a breach of the law and there are significant criminal and civil penalties for credit licensees who fail to lodge the certificate.

Here’s a checklist to help you prepare for lodgement:

I have read this information sheet.

I know when my next annual compliance date is and when the lodgement due date is.

I have done my background checks on each of the ‘fit and proper’ people named on my credit licence. For each of them I may be asked to attach a national criminal history check (or overseas criminal history check for overseas people) and credit history report.

I have information about any new responsible managers so that I am ready to include their qualifications and relevant work experience in my annual compliance certificate.

I understand my obligations as a credit licensee and am ready to certify that I have complied with these obligations.

TIP: Make sure your credit licence contact email address is correct. We will communicate with you about annual compliance certificate requirements using this email address.

TIP: You cannot change your registered details through the annual compliance certificate, so make sure all your details are correct before you start.

What if I fail to lodge the certificate?

As a credit licensee, you must lodge an annual compliance certificate with us and pay the fee for every year that you hold the credit licence.

A failure to lodge the certificate by the due date is a breach of the law. There are significant criminal and civil penalties for credit licensees who fail to lodge the certificate. We may suspend or cancel your credit licence.

IMPORTANT: The law says that the annual compliance certificate is not lodged until the fee is paid.

What are the key dates?

There are two key dates for the annual compliance certificate:

Your annual compliance date is the anniversary of the day on which your credit licence was issued or a new date approved by ASIC.

Your lodgement due date is 45 days after your annual compliance date.

For example, where a credit licence was issued on 1 July 2010, the first annual compliance date will be 1 July 2011. The lodgement due date will be 45 days later (i.e. 15 August 2011).

What happens if I lodge my certificate late?

What information will I need to provide in the certificate?

update details about your business activities, credit or credit intermediary activities and representatives for the previous 12 months

if you provide credit services – provide information about the money you have held in trust during your past financial year

provide information about your dispute resolution and compensation activity – the number of accounts you held, the number of complaints you received and the number of voluntary, proactive compensation programs you ran

calculate your annual compliance certificate fee

certify that you are complying with your credit licence obligations

certify matters and notify changes about all your fit and proper people, both current and those that have ceased to perform that role in the past 12 months – or provide details of any exceptions

complete a statement of personal information for all new fit and proper people, and

Can I change my credit licence details, conditions and/or authorisations at the same time?

No. You will find separate forms within the Australian Credit Register Portal to notify us of changes to your registered details or to make an application to change your credit licence conditions or authorisations.

Will I have to provide supporting documents for my fit and proper people?

We expect you to make reasonable inquiries about all your fit and proper people on a regular basis including updating police checks and credit history checks (see Regulatory Guide 206 Credit licensing: Competence and training (RG 206)).

All credit licensees will be expected to provide the following supporting documentation for each of their fit and proper people periodically (at least once every five years):

a national criminal history check (no more than 12 months old), or overseas criminal history check for overseas people, and

a bankruptcy check (no more than 12 months old).

This requirement will begin in 2013 for some credit licensees.

If a credit licensee fails to provide the supporting documentation requested, the annual compliance certificate will be considered not to have been lodged.

If you have provided copies of these documents to us within the year prior to lodging your annual compliance certificate to support an application for the variation of your authorisations or conditions, you will not have to provide these supporting documents again.

How will I know if I have to provide supporting documents for my fit and proper people with my annual compliance certificate?

If the requirement applies to you, we will email you at the beginning of that financial year (July), and a reminder will be sent closer to your annual compliance date.

IMPORTANT: If your credit licence contact email address is wrong, you will not get this reminder.

Who can sign my annual compliance certificate?

There are special rules about who can sign an annual compliance certificate, depending on the type of legal entity that holds the credit licence.

Table 1: Who can sign your annual compliance certificate

If the credit licensee is...

The annual compliance certificate must be signed by...

a single natural person

the credit licensee

a partnership or the trustees of a trust

a partner or trustee who performs duties in relation to credit activities

a body corporate, and is not an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI)

the chief executive officer (CEO) of the body corporate, or

if the body corporate does not have a CEO, the person who:

is responsible for managing the affairs of the body corporate, and

has the authority to make decisions about the allocation of resources so that the body corporate complies with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (National Credit Act)

a body corporate, and is an ADI

the CEO of the body corporate, or

a person who satisfies the criteria to be fit and proper to hold a responsible person position under Prudential Standard APS 520

Can I change my annual compliance date?

Yes. If you want to change your annual compliance date, you need to apply to us for relief. The new date must not lengthen the certification period – you can bring the date forward but not set it back.

Relief, if granted, will change the annual compliance date and the lodgement due date for the current and future years. Even though the certification period may be shortened, your fee will not be reduced.

You must apply for the relief in writing in accordance with Regulatory Guide 51 Applications for relief (RG 51) well before your current annual compliance date to allow us time to consider your application and, if successful, to update our records.

Important notice

Please note that this information sheet is a summary giving you basic information about a particular topic. It does not cover the whole of the relevant law regarding that topic, and it is not a substitute for professional advice. Omission of any matter on this information sheet will not relieve a company or its officers from any penalty incurred by failing to comply with the statutory obligations of the National Credit Act.

You should also note that because this information sheet avoids legal language wherever possible, it might include some generalisations about the application of the law. Some provisions of the law referred to have exceptions or important qualifications. In most cases your particular circumstances must be taken into account when determining how the law applies to you.

This is Information Sheet 135 (INFO 135). Information sheets provide concise guidance on a specific process or compliance issue or an overview of detailed guidance.